OH MY GOSH 'FOXGIRL CYCLE SONG: 1' IS SO GOOD.

Trap her in thorn, and she’ll slip her skin
Drown her in water, she’ll learn to swim
Burn her, she’ll turn into smoke and wind
Think you can catch her?
Well, think again

This poem is by C. S. E. Cooney and I'm SHOOK. What a fantastic poem! Read it for yourself here.

'The Book of Forgetting' by Jennifer Crow was also great!

You taught me heaven is not a place, but
the magic circle drawn around two souls

I loved the emotion in this one. Read it for yourself here. ( )

Uncanny is a great magazine; I'm never disappointed. Favorites:

Love is Never Still by Rachel Swirsky ****
Love stories narrated by everyone and everything involved.

The Artificial Bees by Simon Guerrier ***
"All animal classes are believed extinct."

Foxgirl Cycle Song: I by C.S.E. Cooney (poem) ****
Beautiful world play with a rhyme that makes me think of children's games with a topic that's dark yet empowering. ( )

"Love is Never Still" by Rachel Swirsky - a Galatea story, with the sculptor made somehow even more unlikable than usual, and an interesting look at the gods and their relationships.

"The Shadow Collector" by Shveta Thakrar - an Indian fantasy about a royal gardener who cares for the girls who grow from flowers, and has a hobby of stealing the shadows from visitors, who makes a serious mistake and a dramatic restitution.

"Big Thrull and the Askin' Man" by Max Gladstone - Is this a troll legend? I think this is a troll legend. Even trolls have stories about bigger and more badass folks. (And also a story of the ever-growing "humans are scary, don't mess with them" genre.) Delightful.

"The Wolf and the Tower Unwoven" by Kelly Sandoval - And speaking of "humans are scary..." The story of a wolf-turned-human, his quest to become a wolf again, and the witch who helps him. About family, and going home, and being changed. Heartbreaking and excellent.

"The Artificial Bees" by Simon Guerrier - a rather adorable post-apocalyptic story about robots and (possibly) the last man on earth. (Bio notes that the author is a Doctor Who writer, which doesn't surprise me at all.)

Reprint: "Just Another Future Song" by Daryl Gregory - I mean, if I described this as a horror story about David Bowie and the Singularity, it wouldn't be *wrong.*

Also including the essays: "Men of Their Times," an essay by Jim C. Hines on why we should stop making excuses for historical racism (the basic two-word rebuttal to the "but historical context" argument: Mister Rogers); "Furry Fandom" by Kyell Gold about, well, furry fandom; "The Transmigration of George R. R. Martin" by Javier Grillo–Marxuach, about the titular man's increasingly weird (massively successful, but deeply weird) career as an illustration of the Phildickian worldview; and "Closing the Gap: The Blurring of Fan and Professional" by Mark Oshiro, about being a fan professionally, which is much better than most such essays are.

Poetry:
Foxgirl Cycle Song: 1 by C. S. E. Cooney. I want the music for this.
The Book of Forgetting by Jennifer Crow, a heartbreak poem that's as much Wiccan as fantasy
god–date by Brandon O’Brien, a sweet little love story

And interviews with Rachel Swirsky and Simon Guerrier. ( )